Blue Jays: Let’s get crazy with five blockbuster ideas

Start with a call to Cleveland

One of the most prominent rumours surrounding the Blue Jays so far this winter has linked them to Cleveland superstar Francisco Lindor. When healthy the 27-year-old is one of the best all-around players in the world, and he’d make pretty much any team better. The only real problem is that he has just one year left on his current contract before he’ll be a free agent, so he’s a rental unless you can get him to sign an extension ahead of time.

If that’s possible then it makes all the sense in the world for the Blue Jays to look to acquire someone like Lindor. However, I think we should talk true blockbuster here, so let’s expand the deal even further. Here’s what I had in mind:

Toronto gets: (41.1)

• Francisco Lindor
• Carlos Carrasco

Cleveland gets: (45.9)

• Jordan Groshans
• Adam Kloffenstein
• Reese McGuire

This is purely an idea on my part, and I’m not sure that it would be enough to convince Cleveland to give up two of their best assets. However, baseballtradevalues.com sees it as a fair swap.

The premium pieces of the deal would be Groshans and Kloffenstein, who have been friends since high school, and were drafted by the Blue Jays during the same year. Groshans ranks among the top 50 prospects in baseball, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Kloffenstein found a similar ranking as he gets older and more experienced. The Blue Jays are carrying five catchers on their 40-man roster, and someone is going to be dealt. Cleveland could push for a better catcher, but McGuire and his value fit here.

It would be a tough pill to swallow to trade both Groshans and Kloffenstein, but to get Lindor AND Carrasco (who is under control through 2023), it would be worth considering.